I finally got around to replacing my tie rods (inner and outer) today. Lessons learned:

1) It pays to invest in an inner tie rod removal tool. I got the set from Harbor Freight - $40 - 20% = $32. I tried to remove the inners with a pipe wrench, but they were just on too tight. I couldn't get them to budge. I measured the wrench size necessary and I think it was 36mm or so. I thought maybe I could use my cooling fan spanner on it, but there just wasn't space. The Harbor Freight set didn't come with a 36mm insert, but it did have a 1 7/16" insert which worked just fine. When it was time to put the new ones on, this made it easy to torque to 100Nm. Don't know if this is the correct spec, but I found the number somewhere online.

2) I did get the right tie rods! Yay! I was worried because my steering rack was replaced with a remanufactured rack about 3 years ago. But, it turns out all was correct.

3) I used some thread locker on the inner tie rods. It looked like red thread locker had been used previously. I've read both sides (use it/don't use it), but I chose to use it.

4) I used a jack stand underneath the inner tie rod remover tool when I was wrenching on it to support it so that I didn't put unnecessary strain on the rack.

5) No matter how careful you are measuring, you're going to f*ck up your alignment. My steering wheel is cocked at a 20 degree angle going straight down the road and I have all sorts of warning bongs and messages. Appointment for an alignment isn't for another few days, so it'll be sitting in the driveway until then.

6) You need a 15mm wrench to hold the inner tie rod and a 24mm wrench to undo the tie rod end locking nut. You also may need the 24mm to undo the tie rod end if it's on tight for some reason. Mine was not.

7) I got TRW tie rods from Autohausaz.com and they appear to be the same as OEM. The boot for the tie rod end ball joint may be a bit smaller, but the inner tie rod ball joint appears to be the same size and I would guess the TRE ball joint is the same size as well. I reused my old bellows because they seemed higher quality and were still in great shape.

So... it took me a long time, but I could probably do it pretty quickly the second time around.

Question for those who know these steering racks though... it appears as though I have an o-ring that is leaking as I was getting some PS fluid pooling in my passenger side bellows/boot. Does fixing these require removal of the rack? Is it something you can DIY or something that requires purchase of a remanufactured rack? Kind of annoyed since this was just replaced 3 years ago...